Torch support



Nov. 21,1944. J. LQANDERsCSN 1 2,353,035

' TORCH SUPPORT I 7 Filed Oct. 28, 1941 2 Sheet-She'et 1 INVENTOR JAMES1.. ANDERSON TTORNEY Nov. 21, 1944. J. ANDERSON I 2,363,

' TORCH SUPPORT Filed Oct. '28, 1941 -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l f JAMESL.ANDERSON.

x BY .7? I K I ATTORNEY NVENTOR Patented Nov. 21, 1944 UNITED STATES.PATENT OFFICE TORCH SUPPORT James L. Anderson, Closter, N. J assignor toAir Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application October 28, 1941, Serial No. 416,852

2 Claims. ('01. 266-23) This invention relates to apparatus for sup.-porting one or more torches, especially cutting torches, as they aremoved across a work piece. The invention is especially concerned withthe support of torches for edge preparation work in which bevel cuts,often multiple-bevel, are made toobtain an advantageous edge form forwelding. Unevenness in the level of the work piece will cause changes inthe'vertical distance from the torch tip to the surface of the workpiece with In addition to spacing of the tip and work iece,

the angle of the tip to the work piec must be kept uniform. Although asingle tip can move within a limited angle in the plane of its outwithout objectionable results, a torch assembly for double bevel cuttingcannot move about any axis without changing the shape of the edge.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved torch supportthat moves one or more torches up and down in accordance with variationsin the level of the workpiece and at the same time prevents anyiangularmovement of the torches. A more specific object of the invention is toprovide improved apparatus" for cut. ting double bevels when shapingplate edges for welding.

This invention versal cutting machines and to straight-line cuttingmachines such as a self-propelled carriage that runs on a track or onthe work surface. The invention comprises a frame, preferably a foldingparallelogram frame that supports a torch from the work and for floatingmovement without changing the angular relation of the torch with respectto the surface of thework piece;

Other features of the invention relate to an improved construction forraising the torch from the work and holding the torch and its support inan elevated position, and to novel combinations of elements that makethe apparatus simple,-eco-.

nomical to manufacture, and efilclent and convenient in use.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the specification proceeds.

is equally applicable to uni- Fig. l is a-perspective view, partlydiagrammatic, showing a universal cutting machine equipped withtorch-supporting apparatus bodying this invention.

Fig. 2 i an enlarged side elevation of the torchsupporting linkage shownin Fig. 1, without the torch holders or wheel.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of a. modifled form of theinvention.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a modification of the raising andlowering structure of Figs. 1 and 2.

In Fig. 1 a universal cutting machine is shown diagrammatically. Thismachine comprises a folding parallelogram fram having a front bar Illpivotally connected to the forward end of jointed arms II and I2, and aconnecting link I3 between the joints of the arms II and I2. Therearward ends of the jointed arm I I, I2 are supported from spaced postsI4 and i5, which may be on a stationary fram or on a carriage. The frontbar 10 is movable parallel to itself in any and changing directions in aplane, and it is moved by a follower device, such as a templatefollower,which may be connected to the front bar known in the art.

bracket at selected angular positions. The pin ID at any point along thelength of the bar since all points of the bar move along courses of thesame shape. No illustration of the templatefollower is necessary, suchdevices being well A plate 20 is secured to the front bar ill by clamps2|. A stud.22 (Fig. 2) extends downward from the plate 20. Abracket 23-fits over the stud 22 and is held on the stud by a clamping nut 24 thatthreads on the lower end of the stud. The clamping nut 24 is turned toclamp the bracket 23 against the plate 20, or in the opposite directionto release the bracket so that it is free to turn on thestud 22 as abearing. A collar 25 is secured to the lower end of the stud 22 by ascrew 26 and prevents removal of the clamping nut 24 from the stud 22."

The bracket 23 has angularly spaced openings 2| into which a pin 28 isinserted to hold the 28 slides in a bearing secured to the plate '20 andi urged downward by a spring 29. I

For straight-line cutting the bar III is ordinarily moved in thedirection of its length or at right angles to its length. In such casesthe bracket 23 is preferably locked against turning l with respect tothe plate 20, but for cuts alongirregular lines the bracket is left freeto rotate so that the torch-supporting means trails behind the'stud 22like a caster.

A fixed, rearward link 32 is secured at its upper end to the bracket 23by screws 33. An upper link 34 and a lower link 35 each has a yoke endthat fits over the link 32 and is pivotally connected to the link 32.The upper link 34 is connected to the fixed link 32 by a shaft 38; thelower link 35 by a clevis pin 31.

A forward link 48 is connected'to yokes at the front ends of the links34, 35 by clevis pins 31. The links 32, 34, 35 and 48 comprise a foldingparallelogram frame which is deflected up and down to raise and lowerthe forward link 48. There are two of these folding parallelogramframes, as shown in Fig. 1, and their corresponding parts are indicatedby the same reference characters.

The forward links 48 are connected by a cross member 42 that serves as atransverse support for one or more torch holders 43 having gibbed slidesadjustable along the transverse support 42. The torch holders 43 can beclamped in any set position on the support 82 by tightening up thescrews 44. In the drawings, two torches 45 are shown disposed in angularrelation to one another for cutting a plate edge with a double bevel.The torches are moved toward and from the Work piece by rack and pinionmechanism actuated by knobs 46. No further description of the torchholders is necessary for a complete understanding of this invention.

The forward ends of the folding parallelogram frames are supported fromthe surface of the work piece by a caster wheel 41 that runs on the workpiece and that is connected with the transverse support 42 by a gibbedslide 48. This slide can be clamped to the support member 42 by aclamping screw 49.

Since the rearward links 32 are always held vertical by the bracket 23,the forward links 48 remain vertical and move up and down parallel tothemselves to shift the torches, 45 up and down without changing theangular relation of the torches with respect to the work piece or toeach other. When cutting a plate that is not absolutely flat, the wheel41 moves up and down the undulations of the plate and compensates forthe unevenness of the plate by shifting the torches up, and down so thatthey follow the edge in spite of the undulations of the plate.

In order that the wheel 41 may cause the floating movement of thetorches to correspond with unevenness at the part of the plate on whichthe torches are operating, it is desirable that the wheel 41 be in linewith the torches transversely of the work piece, and that it be spacednot too far away from the part of the work piece against which thecutting jets are impinging. The yokes at the rearward ends of the upperlinks 34' are pinned to the shaft 36 so that they'move as,a unit withthis shaft and with each other. A crank 5| is pinned to each end of theshaft 38 and extends downward along the link 32. A counter-shaft 52extends through bearings 53 (Fig. 2) on the back of the rearward links32, and there is a handle 54 secured to each end of the shaft 52. Anabutment 55, which may be a roller, extends inward from each of thehandles 54. As the handles 54 move counter-clockwise, the

abutment 55 moves the crank 5| clockwise and in Fig. 2, the handle 54has moved the center of I the abutment 55 slightly beyond a normal fromthe axis of the countershaft 52 to the bearing surface of crank 5|, .andthe parts will, therefore, stay in the position shown after the operatorlets go of the handle. A stop 56 may be provided for preventing thehandle 54 from moving down further than the, position shown in Fig. 2. I

When this handle is raised into the dotted-line position, the abutment55 causes the crank 5| and the link 34 to assume the positions shown indotted lines.

The abutment 55 serves as a cam,- and the crank 5| as the cam-follower.When this abutment is beyond the normal from the axis of shaft 52 to thebearing surface of crank 5|, the follower is past the high point of thedisplacement of the cam.

Figs. 3 and 4 show a modified form of the invention, with a bracket 58connected to a vertically extending post 59 bya split clamp 88 at theback of the'bracket. The post 59 is a part of a self-propelled torchcarriage 6|. A rod 82 extends through the bracket 58 and is slidablelengthwise in the bracket. There are rack teeth.

63 in the front side of the rod 82 and the sliding movement of this rodin the bracket 58 is effected by a pinion 84, journaled in the bracket58, mesh- .ing with the rack teeth of the rod 62, and rotated by a knob85. A key 88'prevents the rod 82 from turning in the bracket 58.

Split blocks 68 are. clamped to opposite ends of the shaft 62 and keyedto the shaft so that they are always in thesame angular relation to endsof the rearward links 69.. The links 18, 1|

have similar connections with forward links 15. The forward links 15 areconnected together by a tie rod 16' that has reduced ends extendingthrough the forward links 15 and fastened to the links by nuts 11. Asimilar tie rod 16 connects the rearward links 68 together. 7

A bar 18 has rack teeth'cut in its front face. This bar is secured tothe forward links 15 by clamping brackets 19. A wheel-connecting bracket88 is movable lengthwise along the bar 18 and has a key 8| that extendsinto a keyway in the bar 18 for preventing angular movement of thebracket 88 andthe rack bar 18. A screw 82 threads through the bracket 88and into contact with the front of the key 8| for thrusting the keyagainst the bottom of the keyway to control the friction between thebracket 88 and the rack bar 18.

The bracket 88 is moved along the rack bar 18 by turning a knob 83 thatrotates a pinion journaled in the bracket 88 and meshing with the rackteeth of the bar 18. The screw 82 isadjusted to obtain sufilcientfriction to make the bracket 88 remain in any position along the bar atwhich it may be set. A caster wheel 85 is attached to the bracket 88 bya post 88. The upper end of the post 86 is secured to the bracket 88 bya nut 81.

The caster wheel 85 is held to the post by a set screw 88 threadingthrough one side of the post,

and into a peripheral groove in the spindle at the upper end of thecaster.

Torch holders are clamped to the bar 18, either at the ends of the baror intermediate its ends. In place of the round bar 18 the parallelogramframes of Figs. 3 and 4 may be connected with a v transverse slidesupport 42, such as shown in Figs.

1 and 2.

The modified construction shown in Fig. 5 differs from that of Figs. 1and 2 in that the handle for deflecting the parallelogram frames movesabout a vertical instead of a horizontalaxis. A hand lever 90 issupported by a vertical pivot 9! on a bracket 92 to which the rearwardlink 32 of the parallelogram frame is connected. An arm 93 extends upfrom the shaft 36 and is rigidly connected to the shaft 36. A roller 94at one end of the hand lever 90 beyond the fulcrum pivot 96 contactswith the arm 93 to cause the shaft 36 to turh and the parallelogramframe to move'up and down. The positions of the'parts when theparallelogram frame is in lowered position are shown in dottedlines.

The preferred and some modifications of the invention have beendescribed, but other embodiments with changes and modifications of theinvention can be made; Some features of the invention can be usedwithout others. Terms of orientation are, of course, relative.

I claim:

1. A floating support for one or more cutting torches including afolding parallelogram frame disposed with the axes of its jointssubstantially horizontal, .bracket means for connecting one end of theframe with a cutting machine, a hand-operated lever angularly movableabout an axis parallel to the axes of the joints of the parallelogramframe, a cam and a cam-follower, the cam being connected to the leverand the cam fol lower being a crank rigidly connected with a link of thefolding parallelogram frame, said cam. and cam-follower cooperating,upon angular movement of the lever, to move the frame and shift thetorches toward or from the work, and said cam and. cam-follower movingbeyond dead center when the torch approaches raised position, forholding the torch in raised position.

2. A torch supporting apparatus comprising a bracket for connection witha cutting'machine, a folding parallelogram frame connected at one end tothe bracket and disposed with the axis of itsjoints substantiallyhorizontal, means for connecting a torch with the other end of said;frame, a.manually-operated lever supported for movement about asubstantially vertical axis, motiontransmitting connections throughwhich horl zontal angular movement of the lever produces verticalangular movement of one of the links of the folding parallelogram frameto raise or lower the torch, a portion of the motion-transmittingconnections traveling beyond dead center during raising of .the torch.

JAMES L. ANDERSON.

